'Sons of Anarchy' Creator Blasts Lawsuit Claims

'Sons of Anarchy' creator Kurt Sutter has blasted an ex-biker's claim that the hit FX drama was his idea.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, former Hells Angel Chuck Zito claims he developed and pitched a TV drama about a renegade motorcycle club to FX in 2004 with the help of an ICM talent agent. The network passed on the show and later began developing Sutter's 'Sons of Anarchy' in 2006. ICM reportedly packaged and pitched Anarchy with Sutter to FX.

Zito is seeking $5 million from the cable network. His lawsuit purports that "FX was obligated to pay Zito the reasonable value of his ideas, hire him to work on the series and afford him screen credit as creator."

Today, Sutter hit back at the claims ... hard. He posted an expletive-filled response to Zito's lawsuit on his personal blog, expressing that having an "idea" for a show is not the same thing as "creating" it. Here's an excerpt:

"HAVING THE F***ING IDEA IS NOT THE SHOW. THERE HAVE BEEN DOZENS OF OUTLAW MOTORCYCLE TV DRAMAS PITCHED IN THE LAST TEN YEARS. NONE OF THEM HAS MADE IT TO SERIES, EXCEPT SOA. BECAUSE THEY SUCKED.

The same way there were dozens of mob family pitches before the Sopranos and crime scene pitches before CSI.

.... I had a love of the subculture but was not an "outlaw biker." The same way Damon Lindelof was never marooned on a supernatural island. I did what a good writers does. Research."

Chuck Zito is not simply an "ex-biker," and I would suggest caution when dealing with him. Anyone who knows of Chuck Zito simply knows that the guy is a bad-ass dude, and deserves respect from anyone who comes into contact with him.

Let the courts decide what should be done. Sutter shouldn't slam Chuck on his site or anywhere else. It's simply not a wise thing to do.